LOS ANGELES — Supporters of Democrat Ben Allen are enlisting the help of unlikely allies in their effort to help him defeat Sandra Fluke for California’s open 26th district State Senate seat: Republican voters.
Mailers from Allen’s campaign began arriving at Los Angeles-area residences last week, with November’s midterm election less than a month away.
The mailers were paid for by Republican-turned-“Independent” Bill Bloomfield, who ran a close but unsuccessful campaign for the 33rd district congressional seat held by Rep. Henry Waxman in 2012.
Breitbart California reported in May that Bloomfield had spent nearly $200,000 of his own money in the primary to produce literature and mailers for Allen’s campaign.
The new campaign materials tout Allen’s fiscal policy record, claiming he has successfully balanced six school budgets, helped raise student test scores, and modernized classrooms to make them more environmentally efficient.
“Ben Allen…is a fiscal watchdog who believes in holding government accountable and knows how to successfully balance a budget,” reads a quote from former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, a Republican, in the mailer.
The mailer, which makes no mention of Allen’s Democrat Party affiliation, has been sent to Republican-registered voters in the district.
Breitbart California Editor-in-Chief Joel Pollak received the mailer on Monday.
“My wife and I are both registered Republicans and have received several mailers in recent days, each touting Ben Allen’s record on fiscal issues and none mentioning that he is a Democrat,” Pollak said. “Clearly, those supporting Allen see Republican votes as the key to victory in a race between Democrats.”
“Interestingly, none of the mailings has yet mentioned Sandra Fluke, the activist against whom Allen is running and who is disliked by many Republicans,” he added.
“Perhaps Allen’s supporters are opting not to go negative–an interesting choice, since typical independent expenditure campaigns target the opponent while allowing the candidate to stay on a positive message.”
Allen and Fluke have squabbled in recent weeks in the race to win endorsements for their campaigns. Last week, Allen secured the endorsement of outgoing 33rd District Rep. Henry Waxman, while Fluke recently received endorsements from Democracy for America and other prominent Democrat organizations.
However, in May, Fluke lost a key local endorsement when the influential Santa Monica Democratic Club decided to throw its support behind Allen.
Of the two candidates, Fluke has a more visible national profile, after her feud with Rush Limbaugh over subsidized birth control was widely reported by the national news media.
However, as Breitbart California reported in May, Fluke could run into messaging issues in her district, where voters are seemingly more concerned with “bread-and-butter issues” like jobs and the economy than with health care and abortion.
The midterm election will be held on November 4. Early voting by mail opened on Monday, October 6.
Photos: Sandra Fluke for State Senate/Ben Allen for State Senate
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